“We’ve got to find us somebody who can keep opposing pitchers from pitching around David Wright”

It’s no secret what Terry Collins is hoping for this holiday season. A bright and shiny power hitter. The problem is that power hitters are in short supply in this year’s free agent market, with unlikely targets like Robinson Cano, Carlos Beltran and Mike Napoli representing the best of the best in the home run department.

The Blue Jays, Rockies and Angels reportedly all had power to spare when the offseason started, but things have changed..

Back in October, Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet Canada reported that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos was willing to trade some of his core players for starting pitching depth and that included proven bur imperfect sluggers like Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

However, AA is now backing off on that and told ESPN’s Jim Bowden today, that he has “not entertained the idea of trading either Bautista or Encarnacion”

This guy is so unpredictable…

There were arguments to be made for the pursuit of either Bautista or Encarnacion, or even Mark Trumbo who may not be as available now as he was before the Angels trade Peter Bourjos.

Cleanup hitters cost big dollars or big prospects.

The Mets do have a ton of young pitching available to barter with, but Sandy Alderson already stated quite emphatically that Noah Syndergaardwas off the table.

With Matt Harvey already lost for the season, and two holes in the rotation to still fill, you can bet that Zack Wheeler, Dillon Gee and Jon Niese aren’t going anywhere either.

The Mets could still dangle the young and unproven Rafael Montero, but he alone won’t cut it in a deal for one of those big names.

Last week I said that the Mets couldn’t afford any foul-ups so they will be very guarded with their approach in pursuit of a cleanup hitter. I also said that their budget wouldn’t go as far as you think.

“The $30 million we keep hearing about won’t go very far. One player like a Peralta or Granderson who are looking for $15 million per year and half of your offseason budget vanishes.”

Well, Peralta is gone now and the Mets spent the what could be the mother lode on Chris Young. leaving them about $22 million to find another outfielder, a shortstop, two starters and at least one reliever.

Sandy will need to be very creative now if he’s going to grant Terry Collins his Christmas wish and give him the cleanup hitter he’s craving. I’m pretty sure that David Wright would like a cleanup hitter from Santa too.

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I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction and interact with other passionate Met fans like you. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.

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